Florencia del Pinar

Who is Florencia del Pinar?

Florencia Pinar is one of the few Castilian female writers of the 15th century. She is known mostly for her mastery of figurative language. Little is known about the exact date and location of her birth, but it is assumed that Pinar was an educated member of the upper class. This much can be deduced from the fact that she was one of the few female poets whose works were included in the 15th century Spanish poetic songbook known as Cancionero general. Her work must have been deemed exemplary at the time as the songbook was compiled with the intent to make the works of renowned poets more accessible to the public. She also composed her poems in the Castilian dialect which was characteristic of the educated upper class of her time. Only four of her works are known to have been published, two of which were later attributed to the “dama” or “Señora” Florencia Pinar. Both of these titles connote a certain elevated level of social status. There have also been a number of additional poems dating back to the 15th century that also denote a poet by the name of "Pinar." For the most part, many of these have been attributed to Florencia's brother Geronimo de Pinar - who was also a writer of many canciones. However, there is still some speculation about how many of them may have actually been written by Florencia Pinar herself. Pinar's poems are canciones - a popular 15th century - that usually discussed lighter themes.